Aperture's stairway
by Starswirling
Summary: A slight AU from Portal 2's ending - Where Android!Wheatley and Chell have to try and escape once again.


When Chell awoke she found herself lying on the floor just outside the elevator. GLaDOS was looking at her, as were two robots that Chell had never seen before. She blinked, confused, for a few seconds, and half listened to GLaDOS talk about how she was glad she was safe. Then Chell remembered, the screaming void, hanging on for dear life and Wheatley.

Wheatley! Where is he? Chell thought and looked around the room frantically and spotted him - slumped on the floor in GLaDOS's shadow, his head and arms braced on his knees. His suit and power indicator had gone back to his gray and blue color scheme, so she guessed he wasn't corrupted anymore. She tried to catch his eye, to see if his face would give her any explanation as to what happened with him, if he felt any remorse for what he did, but he refused to look up.

GLaDOS finally noticed Chell looking at him. "I can't believe you saved that moron. You would leave me with one more mess to clean up before you go. But don't worry, I have plans for him. Now, just go."

Go? GLaDOS was just going to let her leave? Chell didn't buy it. Fearing a trap, but seeing no alternative, Chell took one tentative step towards the waiting elevator, but her eyes kept moving back and forth between Wheatley and GLaDOS.

She took one more step.

"I can't believe you're going to do this," Wheatley said venomously. "Of all the bloody madness you've created, this one is by far the worst."

Chell stopped. Was he talking to her? About her leaving?

But no, he was glaring at GLaDOS. Chell noticed that one of the lenses on his oversized round glasses were still cracked.

"Why not tell her the truth? About the turrets that are waiting for her a few floors up? Why pretend that you're actually letting her go? There's cruel and then there's _cruel_. Why give her the false hope?" Wheatley demanded in a fierce voice.

"You would know about false hope, wouldn't you?" GLaDOS sneered back, as she loomed over him. "After all, you fed her all those lies about escaping didn't you? Told her all about how you both were going to leave? And then smashed her dreams right at the finish line."

A look of shame crossed Wheatley's face for a second, but then the anger returned. "I botched it. I know it. If I had known how…how _evil_ that chassis is, how corrupt the entire mainframe is, I wouldn't have suggested the transfer. So yeah, I screwed up, but I'm not going to let you hurt her now," Wheatley said, as he rose to his feet.

"You, little moronic robot, have no idea what you're talking about, and are in no position to issue threats to anyone, let alone me," GLaDOS said glacially and a pair of claws lowered from the ceiling. But for the second time ever, Wheatley surprised her. Instead of running away, trying to save his own hide, Wheatley lunged _towards_ them, just barely slipping underneath grabbing Chell around the middle, and lifted a hatch on the floor by the elevator.

"Get them!" roared GLaDOS, but in their eagerness to obey her orders, the two robots tripped over each other, and landed in a squawking pile, giving Wheatley enough time to push both him and Chell through the hatch, close it and brace it shut with a piece of steel he found on the floor.

While Wheatley was bracing the door, Chell looked at where he'd trapped them. They were on a catwalk that spanned a huge vertical shaft. Branching up the middle were a series of ducts with a staircase wrapped around it. Peering up, the shaft seems to rise forever, but just at the edge of her vision, Chell could make out another catwalk just like the one they were standing on. Looking below showed the same thing.

"There!" Wheatley said triumphantly, as he dusted his hands off and stepped away from the hatch. "That should keep them out!" Turning to face Chell the smug expression faded from his face. "Ah…um, I should…I should probably start by saying I'm sorry, yeah? And I am. Truly and honestly. You didn't deserve what happened. I really wanted us to leave. I did! But the chassis, it's…it's corrupted! I could feel it… _changing_ me when I was plugged in, but I thought I could fight it. But I couldn't and then all my rational thoughts were gone. I'm so sorry Chell. God I'm sorry. And…and I know that saying sorry doesn't make up for what happened…unless it does?"

The scowl on Chell's face quickly had him moving on. "No, no of course it doesn't. Not even sure why I brought it up. But I swear to you Chell if I thought GLaDOS was truly going to let you go, I would have let her. I would have, because I really do want you to be free. But she wasn't. While you were still unconscious she was talking about getting the turrets in place and how she was going to trick you. I couldn't let that happen mate."

Chell wasn't entirely sure she believed him, but he seemed sincere in his ramblings. Either way she didn't have much choice, but she would make damn sure he had less of a chance to kill her this time. Not reacting to his stumbling apology, Chell gestured to the shaft, with a "what is this place?' look on her face.

"This?" Wheatley asked, continuing at Chell's nod. "This is the main distribution shaft for the hard light bridges. It goes straight up the surface behind a bank of solar panels. I found it when I was plugged into the mainframe. To be honest, I was looking for ways to make sure you couldn't escape…but that's not the point! The point is this goes right to the surface, it's hard to access and it's mostly been forgotten about, so it's perfect! I reckon it'll take us two, maybe three days to get to the surface."

Chell was not looking forward to two or more full days of climbing stairs or spending a prolonged time in a tight space with Wheatley, but she didn't see any way around it. She wished she still had the portal gun, even though there were no surfaces in the shaft that would allow her to use it, she still missed the device.

Sighing, Chell skirted around Wheatley to pick up a baseball bat sized piece of beam from the floor. Holding it in her hand, she gestured for him to take the lead. No way was she going to present him with the opportunity to sneak up behind her on the stairs. The situation dictated that she put some trust in the android again, but she wasn't about to make herself a sitting duck.

"What are you carrying that beam for luv? You're not...you're not going to use that on me are you?" Wheatley nervously asked.

Chell's glare clearly said, "Don't give me a reason to."

"Are you sure you don't want to go first? So I can catch you if you fall?" Wheatley questioned.

Chell glared harder and stabbed her finger towards the stairs again.

"O-okay mate, whatever you say," Wheatley said and started to climb.

The android quickly found it was next to impossible to have a conversation (albeit, even a one-sided one) with the current configuration. He kept trying to turn and look at her over his shoulder as he talked to her, but after tripping precariously close to the guard rail and almost falling over the side, Wheatley gave up - at least on the talking out loud part. In his head he was still crafting apology after apology in hopes he would be able to say them later.

For hours they climbed without rest. The large catwalk Chell had seen earlier at the edge of her vision finally came near when Wheatley stopped and spun around to talk to her.

"Listen, if GLaDOS is able to reach us at all, it's going to be at these big catwalks. Again, they're hard to access and a lot of debris is blocking them. So we should be okay. Just might want to process with a caution is all. But once we clear this, there's a smaller platform close by if I'm remembering right, we can stop there for the night," Wheatley said.

Chell glanced up at the large catwalk and gripped her length of pipe tighter. She nodded and gestured for Wheatley to keep moving. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her (okay, beg her) to go first, but Wheatley realized this was a chance for him to prove himself to her, and maybe even win back a little trust, so he bit back his words and started up the stairs again. As the catwalk came closer, he began to pause between each step, listening for any kind of threat, but only silence greeted them.

Finally they were at the last turn. Wheatley stopped for a good five minutes, trying to gather his courage. He eventually moved, but first stole a glance at Chell before peeking around the corner to find...nothing. There was absolutely nothing menacing on the catwalk.

"See, what did I tell you?" Wheatley said, overly enthusiastic now that there was no immediate danger. Chell still wasn't convinced. She gestured that he should also use some of the pipe that littered the floor to seal off the door at the end.

"Oh! Of course mate! Can't be too careful can we?" He said as he walked down to the door. After wrapping the pipe around the door handle so it would be impossible to open it from the other side, the two continued on their trek to the first smaller platform. When they finally reached it Chell was glad. She suspected the adrenal vapor was starting to wear off, and while thankfully she didn't feel hungry or thirsty yet, she _was_ tired.

The platform, as Wheatley had called it, was really just about the size of a twin mattress, set closer to a control panel on the side of the duct. But it was flat and that's all Chell cared about right now. Wearily she sank to the floor, her back braced against the duct. She closed her eyes, just for a moment, but they flew open again as she felt something brush against her right side. She turned and confronted a startled Wheatley, who had sat down so close to her, his arm and leg were touching her. She gave him her best "What the hell do you think you're doing?" look.

"What? You...you don't want me sitting next to you? I thought I could, could help keep an eye out for trouble and keep you warm. It's pretty chilly in here," Wheatley said, smiling tentatively. But it slipped from his face as Chell shook her head vehemently and pointed to the spot at the end of the platform by the stairs they had just come up.

"Oh," Wheatley said dejectedly. "Right, I'll just keep watch from there then, yeah?" He moved to sit on the step.

Chell once again closed her eyes and before long she had drifted off to sleep.

She hadn't been out for more than fourty minutes when she was awakened by a searing pain in the back of her thigh. Lips curled in silent scream she curled into a ball on the floor as she tried to massage out the massive knot in her muscles.

It wasn't until she kicked the duct as she writhed in agony that Wheatley even realized she was in pain. He was at her side in a flash. "What is it? What's wrong? Are you dying?" He yelped. He saw her clutching her thigh and first thought she had been shot, or maybe even stung by something as he hadn't heard any turrets or gunshots. He managed to draw her hands away, and even through her jumpsuit, he saw how her leg seemed to be straining unnaturally. "Cramp," his processors finally spat out at him.

"Oh!" He said, clucking his tongue thoughtfully. "You have a cramp, and a right nasty one too by the looks of it. Here, just let me.." Wheatley said as he awkwardly scooped her up and deposited her in his lap. With a careful but strong pressure, Wheatley massaged the painful charlie horse in her leg.

Chell always forgot how strong the android was. He could easily snap her femur like a stick if he really wanted, but he seemed determined to be tender with her. Under his touch, and the heat from his mechanics, Chell finally felt her muscles loosen and she slumped against Wheatley's chest.

"Is that better luv?" he asked, still stroking her thigh, a little high up for her liking. "Sorry, must have been all these stairs followed by the cold. I don't think long fall boots are meant for climbing…..Look I know you don't want to, but I honestly think it'll be best if you stay here…in my lap for tonight. You'll stay warm and hopefully keep any more pesky cramps at bay."

Chell narrowed her eyes, she didn't like it one bit, but she was beyond tired and sore and frankly didn't care if Wheatley tried to kill her at his point. She closed her eyes and shifted to a more comfortable position.

"Brilliant!" He said surprised. "I honestly didn't think you'd actually go for that idea. Right, I'll just keep watch then while you sleep. Don't worry luv, you're in good hands, literally," he joked. When Chell didn't make any sort of response, he quieted down, but continued to stroke her leg, even after her deep breathes let him know she was sleeping.

Chell drifted into consciousness hours later feeling warm and actually refreshed. It turned out that Wheatley made for a pretty good sleeping spot. She felt him lightly rubbing her back, he didn't seem to realize that she was awake, as he was too busy muttering constantly under his breath. Chell strained to hear what he was saying, she was shocked to find out he was apologizing over and over again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Chell. Please? I'm sorry," he was practically chanting. Chell wasn't even sure he knew he was saying it out loud. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to forgive him, but it was nice to know that even when he thought no one was watching, he was genuinely sorry.

It was time to get moving though.

Chell gave an over-exaggerated yawn and stretched, causing Wheatley to jump slightly.

"Ah, you're awake! Feeling better luv?" He asked as he helped her back on her feet. "Ready to go?"

Chell held up a finger, gesturing for him to wait as she quickly did some stretches, trying to loosen her leg muscles.

"Good idea mate. Hopefully that will help later. Best to avoid last night's painful problem if possible."

Chell stood up straight and waved a hand to indicate that the android should start heading up the stairs.

"You want me to…..to lead again? Sure thing mate." Wheatley looked slightly crestfallen but he gamely went on ahead. Once again he spent the day running apologies through his head. He turned around few times, his mouth opening to say something, but the look on Chell's face had him spinning back around each time. All day they climbed, the sound of their feet on the metal stairs the only noise.

Slowly but surely the next large catwalk came closer until they were directly beneath it. Again Wheatley peeked around the corner, a touch more casually than he had with the first catwalk. Once more it was empty.

"See! What did I tell you? She can't touch us back here," Wheatley said proudly. Just to be on the safe side, Chell had him block the door again before they moved on to the smaller platform.

Once they arrived, Wheatley immediately sat down cross-legged, his back against the duct, and held his arms open, inviting Chell to curl up in his lap. She made no move forward and raised an eyebrow in question at him.

"Chell, luv, I know it's your trademark, but don't be stubborn." Wheatley said firmly. "You're tired and cold and you don't want a repeat of yesterday do you? You'll want to be in top form to get out of here tomorrow."

Chell hated that he was right.

With an exasperated sigh and an eye roll, Chell reluctantly lowered herself into his lap. The second she settled, Wheatley wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and tucking her head under his chin.

"There," he said as he kept her flush against his chest as he shifted so he could lean back. "Now you'll be snug as a bug. Ha! I bet you sleep like a baby, what with me keeping beastly cramps and enemies away! I'll mmmph!" He mumbled against her mouth as she cut him off mid-ramble.

Wheatley got the message and when she pulled her hand away he gave her a sheepish smile. "Goodnight luv," he said and remained silent.

Less than a minute later Chell was asleep.

She woke up to his voice low in her ear. Yet again, he wasn't aware of her being awake, as he ran his fingers though her hair as he murmured to her.

"I know you don't want to hear apology and I get that, I really do. But I _have_ to tell you Chell, even if you're asleep and won't actually hear this. I swear I meant for you to escape…the first time we met. I did. I really did. But the chassis! It's, it's so corrupt! My god, I've never come across anything like it! I don't _what_ the programmers were thinking when they built it, but it's…it's evil Chell. The second I was plugged in, it was like I was _swallowed_. I'm sorry Chell, I'm so sorry I wasn't strong enough to fight it, that I made you test, that I hurt you. _God_ I'm so sorry. And I know nothing I can do will make up for it, but I swear, _I swear_ , I'm going to get you out of here. If I'm lucky enough to make it too, I'll spend the rest of my days making amends. But I will get you out. _I will_."

Chell held herself still as Wheatley fervently apologized, his fingers never ceasing in her hair. She wondered what he meant by "if he made it too." They were escaping together…weren't they?

She pretended to "wake up" gradually. Thankfully at her first stirrings Wheatley shut up and lifted his hands from her scalp.

Once her eyes were fully opened, Wheatley helped her up.

"Today's the day, are you excited?" he asked, clinging to her hand.

She was, but she was trying to be cautious. Who knew if she would really beat Aperture once and for all today. She gave the Wheatley a small half-smile, but it made him light up all the same and squeeze her hand.

"Let's go!" he trilled and without waiting for Chell's direction, began to lead the way up the stairs. For the third straight day they climbed, but today there was extra determination in both of their steps.

Finally, finally, the last large catwalk came into view. Grinning, Wheatley glanced over his shoulder at Chell.

"We're almost there mate!" He said as he went around the corner. They had met no opposition so far and he had let his guard drop.

Which is why the first bullet that whizzed by his head caught him by total surprise.

The pair caught sight of two dozen turrets set up along the catwalk before Wheatley dove backwards with a yelp, using his body to shield Chell as they ducked around the corner.

Chell was more dazed by Wheatley's selfless act then the turrets. She had expected GLaDOS to act eventually, despite her companion's hope that they were untouchable in the service shaft.

Once the shooting stopped, Chell eased her way around Wheatley, ignoring his whispered protests and snuck a quick peek at the catwalk to assess the situation. Wheatley frantically grasped the back of her tank top and pulled her back, once again shielding her behind him as the turrets started their protests.

"What are you doing?" Wheatley hissed as he herded her even further away. "You're going to get yourself killed! Oooh! We were so close too! Now what are we going to do?"

Chell knew he was asking because he was in a blind panic, but she already had a plan.

Shaking Wheatley by the shoulders to snap him out of it, Chell lead him to the handrail and motioned that she wanted him to break off a specifically sized chunk.

"What do you need this for lady? I don't understand how this will help! We need to…." Wheatley trailed off as he saw the murderous glint in her eye. Without another word he went about doing as Chell asked.

She had him lay the piece on the ground, and using the beam she had been carrying as weapon, nudged it so that it spanned the width of the catwalk. Then Chell took a step back, gathering herself to take the leap around the corner.

At the last second, Wheatley put together her plan and grabbed her just as Chell was starting to move forward.

"No stop!" he cried, holding her tightly. "It's too dangerous! Let me do it, I can do it!" He said, reaching for the beam in her hand.

The small flame of hope that Chell had been shielding deep inside herself suddenly flared. Wheatley was offering to put himself in danger. For her.

There was still some repairs that had to be made to their friendship, even if they managed to escape, but at that exact moment, Chell was engulfed by a mix of pride, affection and joy for Wheatley.

Without thinking, she briefly kissed him on the lips, causing him to freeze in shock.

Seizing her chance, Chell maneuvered past him, and used her piece of piece of beam to shove the railing chunk across the catwalk and into the sea of turrets.

Like a demon domino set, the turrets fell over one after the other, wailing and crying, discharging their bullets harmlessly into the abyss of the shaft before deactivating.

"You did it!" Wheatley cried triumphantly, arms raised in the air. Chell gave him one small grin before grabbing his arm and pulling him after her as she raced up the stairs. She didn't want to linger, not even to try and jam the door at the end of the catwalk when they were so near the surface.

The pair were halfway up the last set of stairs to the exit when catwalk door burst open and Atlas and P-body bolted through.

"Run!" Screamed Wheatley, scooping her up into his arms as he charged ahead. It seemed like a lifetime to Chell before they reached the end of stairs. She was surprised to see that instead of another smaller platform, the stairs lead to a very narrow catwalk that stretched to the side of the shaft, with small hatch at the end. The exit!

Wheatley wasted no time in sprinting to the door, and panting, he released Chell and started to wrestle with the locking mechanism of the door.

Chell could hear the clanking of android feet coming closer. With a small cry Wheatley got the door unlocked and he began to push it open, but the protesting metal only made it a few inches before it got stuck. Desperately Wheatley repeatedly slammed his full weight against the hatch, battering it open a few more inches at a time. Once he got the door open more than a fraction, he grabbed Chell and essentially stuffed her through the narrow opening.

Squinting her eyes against the bright sunshine, Chell saw what the problem with the door was - the solar arrays had rusted and fallen, and a large section was now leaning precariously against the door. She also noticed that Wheatley couldn't fit through the opening he had made. Chell wedged the beam she had been carrying for days in the door, using it as a lever, while Wheatley continued to push from his end.

It was working, but not fast enough. Chell could hear that GLaDOS's lackeys were very close now. They weren't going to get the door open before they reached him.

Chell met Wheatley's electric blue optics and saw his face set in a look of acceptance and determination.

"It's okay luv," Wheatley said. "J-just promise me you'll take care of yourself and enjoy your freedom."

He turned, pushing his back against the door and lowering into a crouch. It took Chell a moment to realize what he was going to do. He was preparing to launch himself at the oncoming machines, sending all three of them over the railing and to their doom at the bottom of the miles long tunnel.

Chell couldn't let that happen.

In a burst of adrenaline, Chell shoved with all her might against the beam, wrenching the door open enough so that Wheatley fell backwards and landed on dirt. She then threw herself on top of him, grabbing his jumpsuit and using her momentum to roll them out from under the array.

With a huge shriek of metal on metal, the whole rusting structure collapsed, pinning the door shut again and burying it under a huge pile of steel - effectively sealing Aperture off.

Panting, Chell slowly sat herself up so she was straddling Wheatley. She looked down at him and made a "What were you _thinking_!?" gesture.

Trying to slow his own breathing, Wheatley propped himself up on his elbows. Correctly interpreting her question, he replied, "I was thinking I was _bloody_ making sure you escaped. That I would finally keep my promise and that falling down a bottomless pit was a smashing good punishment for what I did to you earlier. Kind of...fittingly karmic actually."

Chell frowned at him, while he gave her his best placating smile. Then she leaned down and kissed him. It took him a few seconds before he had the wherewithal to kiss her back.

Breaking away, Chell grabbed his hand and squeezed, bringing their clasped hands up and staring significantly at him.

"Are you saying... that it's you and me together from now on?" Wheatley asked softly.

Smiling, she nodded, causing Wheatley to break out in a wide grin of his own.

Chell finally moved to stand, and offered Wheatley her hand to help him up. Scanning the horizon, she noticed some houses far in the distance.

Squeezing his hand, Chell pointed out the buildings to Wheatley. He hesitated, looking uncertain. Chell cupped the back of his head and drew him down, kissing him again.

Wheatley took a steadying breath and rested his forehead against hers.

"Together yeah?" Chell slipped both arms around and hugged him. "Then let's go."

Hand in hand, they set off.


End file.
